The El Mirón Cave is a large cave in the upper
Asón River valley towards the eastern end of
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
in northern Spain, near the border of the Basque Country.
It is an archeological site in
Ramales de la Victoria. It is known for a skeleton belonging to a woman nicknamed The
Red Lady of El Mirón
The Red Lady of El Mirón is a skeleton belonging to a woman of Upper Paleolithic (Magdalenian) found at El Mirón Cave in eastern Cantabria, Spain. Background
The discovery was published in 2015 by a team of archaeologists from Universidad de Bur ...
. She is estimated to have died around 18,700 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic (
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: ''Magdalénien'') are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madele ...
). The skeleton is examined to that of someone between 35 and 40 years. Her bones were coated with
ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
, a red iron-based pigment, hence, her name.
The cave was discovered in 1903 by amateur archaeologists Hermilio Alcalde del Río and Lorenzo Sierra. It contains a rich collection of
Upper Paleolithic art.
Among the prominent arts are those of an engraving of a horse and possibly one of a bison.
The first systematic excavation started only in 1996. The team of archaeologists, led by Lawrence Straus of the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
and Manuel González Morales of the
University of Cantabria
University of Cantabria (UC) ( es, Universidad de Cantabria), is a public university located in Santander, Torrelavega and Comillas in Cantabria, Spain. It was founded in 1972 and is organized in 15 schools and colleges.
It was selected as ...
, made a discovery of a number of prehistoric remains. The Red Lady was discovered in 2010. The cave contains a large limestone block towards the rear. A narrow space running through the block was the location of the skeleton.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirón Cave, El
Paleoanthropological sites
Archaeological sites in Spain
Caves of Cantabria
Magdalenian
Art of the Upper Paleolithic